business

Hundreds line up for an hour at Osaka McDonald's for Quarter Pounder debut

56 Comments

The Quarter Pounder made its debut on menus in Osaka on Tuesday, with more than 500 people lining up outside McDonald’s Midosuji-Suomachi store in Chuo Ward before it opened at 10 a.m.

While the Quarter Pounder had already made its way onto menus in the Kanto area in November, Tuesday marked the first day the famous burger was available in the Kansai area. The Quarter Pounder is only on sale at the Suomachi store at this point, and only available in a set with fries and a drink for 500 yen until Friday. Until then, the Suomachi store will not be selling regular menu items, but will resume regular operations on Friday when the Quarter Pounder will also become available for individual sale at 360 yen.

The queue outside the store before opening stretched for a couple of hundred meters, with some people waiting for more than an hour. One university student said: “It’s got a thick pattie, it’s a great burger. It was worth the wait.”

Pro golfer Momoko Ueda also made a guest appearance at the event, and was surprised by the queues outside. “That’s Osaka for you. They love their food.”

© News reports

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56 Comments
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Right. It is a marketing gimmick. McDonalds have hired people to stand in line to make other people curious to what this hype is all about. You see people lining up in famous restaurants and ramen joints if it has a good reputation the line will then be good advertising for the shop again.

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In Tokyo, it has not been such success and hence, by hiring more than 1,000 fake clients queuing (for 1000JPY plus the 500JPY menu), Mc Donald did pretty well to manipulate the masses in Osaka.

http://www.japantoday.com/category/business/view/mcdonalds-admits-1000-people-paid-to-join-queue-for-quarter-pounder-debut-in-osaka

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quarter_Pounder

Anyway, no hamburger in Japan is worth one from Freshness Burger!

http://www.freshnessburger.co.jp

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Anybody hear about Mickey D's paying folks to stand in line, claiming it was "quality monitoring?" Some of the early posters were right it looks like.

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Look Burger King!!! OSAKA LOVES BURGERS. Now open a Whopper Shop in Kansai!

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telecasterplayer> "Shame on glutinous American food! I hate myself for it. Curse you, McDonald's publicity machine!"

True, The scarey burger clown in baggy pants plays upon our collective narcissism. I Love your honesty!

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The McD's in Japan are SOOO much better than the ones in the U.S. Despite promises to resist and refuse to eat American junk food in Sushiland, I usually break down once per visit and grab a burger. Shame on glutenous American food! I hate myself for it. Dang, now I have to have a QP w/C before the end of the week. Curse you, McDonald's publicity machine!

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Sad comment on the folks in Osaka's culinary tastes.

I think it's a sad comment on Osaka's wallets. Bus drivers, truck drivers, construction workers, failed comedians, alcoholic Tigers fans - mate, that place can't drum up a single proper full-time job amongst their whole lot of millions.

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I hope they had enought meet...

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dontpanic> "Those worth keeping are worth a bit more effort than that." No, those worth keeping will appreciate frugality. "a bit more effort than that"? I think cooking a good meal is a bit more effort than wasting time & money in line at Mcfacsimile food.

ptolemy> "Hello lemmings, enjoy your jump off the cliff."

Lemmings really don't jump off cliffs. A Disney inspired myth. Humans are the only animal that commits mass suicide, as evidenced by this line of people outside Mc cholesterol.

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Sad comment on the folks in Osaka's culinary tastes. Although I will admit, I'm thrilled the QP has finally made its way over here. (Had one for lunch just today, but with the salad.) The double cheeseburger was not an adequate substitute.

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"Japan need someone to set up a chain of fish and chips or pie and mash shops, then they could have some decent grub"

Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!

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SPIDEY gets reps for the funniest comment:

And I thought MOVIES came late to Japan!! Geez Loueez!

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I wouldn't cue up for an hour for that muck, yuck!! Wimpy is miles better and you get a knife and fork.

Japan need someone to set up a chain of fish and chips or pie and mash shops, then they could have some decent grub without chemicals and all them colours and things they add.

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You'd think that McDonald's had a Michelin rating or something.... can't understand lining up for something I've eaten since I was in junior high. LOL

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Quarter pounder? welcome to the 20th century. Been there, tried it. Next century, please.

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Actually there is a high probability that most of the people lining up have no idea what they were lining up for. The Japanese automatically join any line they see. It's in their DNA

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Gourmet country Japan.

He, He, He.

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30061015 - Spend just ¥1,440 on your honey and she wont be for much longer. Those worth keeping are worth a bit more effort than that.

McMuck may not be haute cuisine but I still enjoy them. Lady D sees to it that it's only an occasional treat these days though. Bugger.

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Wait a minute! I very much remember McD coming to Okinawa in 1976 and the QP was on the menu. It was still on the menu when I left in 1979. My next door neighbor sold half his storefront to McD so they could open McD in Awase Medows. He managed to garner two of those huge window posters. One for the Big Mac and one for the QP. On the poster in English it said "McDonalds has come to Okinawa - Why not come to McDonalds?" Still got those posters rolled up in a tube somewhere. Only two stores opened then and there were some long lines for several days. But let's remember Okinawa has always been different.

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A 1/4-pounder with cheese - my favorite quick meal back in the US. Love the onions in it.

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Oh my God, how could somebody line for that disgusting piece of junk food?

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Look at this picture and tell me why Kansai has no burger king or krispy kreme....are they AFRAID of making money???

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I think a Quarter Pounder sandwiched between two Krispy Kreme donuts would taste great! Hee hee!

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If Osaka people love their food, why do they queue for an hour to eat American food?

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The Japanese would queue up for their own deaths.

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with more than 500 people lining up outside McDonald’s

Translation, 500 people with no life lined up to consume crap. Just like a good consumer sheep should because McDonald's says to do so. Lets not forget all the other losers are waiting so they have to as well. Hello lemmings, enjoy your jump off the cliff.

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Wow, that's ¥1,440 a pound for...?! Guys, buy a good steak or salmon, cook it yourself (yes, it is possible, you CAN do that) and have it with your honey by candlelight instead. You sure as $hite don't need more metabolic syndrome pounds, & Ronald-mcdeath-byfat doesn't need more money.

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Well let's see when Japan will get the half-pounder... wwwww

In my vicinity, there's double quarter-pounder (and double fillet-o-fish, for a limited time) being served in 24h Mickey Ds from 2100 to 0500. Very delicious, but equally lethal (read: artery-clogging). That said, it's easy to get addicted to these esp. when other better options (eg. BK) are not available at the given time -- in a sleepless town.

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I remember when the Quarter Pounder made a brief appearance on menus in a select few restaurants four or five years ago. I had one in Shibuya and another in Takadanobaba. I even took some friends for one only to find it was gone. They thought I was drunk again and didn't believe that the Quarter Pounder even made it as far as Tokyo. It disappeared almost as quickly as it showed up and I was sad. But alas, it's back...with a vengeance.

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Teh quarter pounder is teh best! Good on them chaps!

ScottishThugm, actually would rather have anyone of the following mate, Scotch Egg, Black Pudding or Hagis.

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Teh quarter pounder is teh best! Good on them chaps!

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And I thought MOVIES came late to Japan!! Geez Loueez!

S

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McDonald's is not real food. It's precisely unhealthy crap like this and the flocks of drones that lust for it that'll surely bring Japan's lofty longevity records down, and raise health care expenses in the years to come as well.

Hopefully people in Japan don't end up eating as badly as many are in the States. Check out http://abcnews.go.com/Health/story?id=4757669&page=1

or http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A_p0harpaSM

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ooooh, nothing feels nicer than having a hot quater pounder in your mouth. Yum Yum!

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Two words:

Whopper Virgins.

Taka

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It's a toss-up as to which line is longer - the one for Quarter Pounders, and the one for Krispy Kreme donuts!

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Let's see, pay 490 freetas 800 yen each to line up for an hour, not a bad cost of advertising. Oh and yeah those ten that actually wanted the burgers, hope they got them while they were still warm.

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Better off in this cold weather with some steak and kidney pudding.

McDonalds costs too much and is too salty. Watch McDonalds turn yet another country into fat gits.

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Ha ha ha, this must really grind the gears of McDonald's haters!

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stand in line for an hour for mc?!@# barf.

call it in and let them deliver it via moped if they do that...

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They're contributing the economy! Not as much as if they'd spent that hour working, but hey...

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They do seem to be doing good business.

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How to sum up what is wrong with Japan in one news story, brought to you by McDonalds.

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Probably took most of the 500 people who queued up for god knows how long, about 10 mins for their stomach to disagree with their decision to ingest such crap!!

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Teh Quater Pound is still ok, but the Megamacs and double fillet-o-fishes are criminal. That all said, why would 500 people line up for a QP. I remember ebing in Chicago in the early ninties when Micky D's launched the mcJordan (QP w/Cheese and Bacaon and BBQ sauce). I don't think 500 people bothered to line up for that one.

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Yeah, the Mega Mac is probably larger than the QP. The difference is supposedly in the size of the individual patty. Hell, they have a double McRib in my town.

That said, it's Japan. Of course they lined up for it. Japanese people love standing in line.

BTW, they queued up for Kripy Kreme in southern California when that opened as well.

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500 people have no life

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This news is almost as big as the Double Big Mac a few years ago!

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Memo to Japanese people: You don't line up for hamburgers, Krispy Kreme doughnuts or H&M stores.

add cold stone to the list.

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Many years ago in Japan, the Golden Arches didn't have QP on the menu. Indeed, some of my Japanese friends baulked at the idea that anybody would want to eat a QP (let alone a QP with Cheese). How times (and Japanese dietary habits have changed). People (admiittedly Osaka residents) are lining up for this "food."

Just out of interest, what is the biggest meal that Golden Arches are flogging overseas these days? Anything bigger than the QP?

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No burger in this world is worth waiting 10 minutes in the cold for.

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What a heck!!!

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Memo to Japanese people: You don't line up for hamburgers, Krispy Kreme doughnuts or H&M stores.

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Hey man, the one good effect of endaka!

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500 people lining up for a quater pounder? What is this world coming to?

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